Loving It
by Amarin Rose
Summary: Pairing: Roy–Cass Summary: Roy's asking for Batman's blessing for his relationship with Batgirl. Batman's not exactly in a giving mood...


**Loving It**

* * *

Facing down potentially dangerous people was never something that Roy liked doing. Even less so when that dangerous person – no 'potentially' needed as a qualifier – was Batman.

But for Cass, he'd do it.

He just wished that instead of trying to talk **him** out of it, Dick had talked to Cass. Then maybe he wouldn't be in this mess.

He'd gone to ask Dick for his support – surely Bruce wouldn't kill anyone in front of his son, right? – and Dick had just about busted a gut laughing at him. "I can't believe you actually want to ask for Bruce's blessing to date Cass." Dick had shaken his head and snickered.

Roy sighed. "It was Cass's idea." He'd thought of Batman, and said pointedly, "She seemed to think he'd be less of an asshole if he thought that he had some input into our relationship."

"Nothing makes Bruce less of an asshole," Dick had replied, then backtracked. "Except, possibly, dating Dinah, but she's been out of a town for almost a month on a mission for Oracle."

"So basically you're telling me that Batsy is in a bad mood because he hasn't gotten laid in a while?" Roy had demanded disbelievingly. And the less he thought about his pseudo mother and his sort of father-in-law doing the nasty, the better.

"Yup," Dick had replied, grinning.

"I'm doomed," had been Roy's only reply, and looking at the Dark Knight by day in front of him, Roy could only congratulate himself on his newly found prophetic powers. He just wished that he'd found a way to keep from getting himself into this situation. Other than, well, not dating Cass to begin with. That was out of the question.

"Harper…" growled the Batman in Bruce Wayne's clothing. They were in the library at Wayne Manor, and yet the circumstances had Roy quaking as if they were facing off in the Batcave. Even hundred dollar jeans and a blue silk polo shirt with a little yellow sun embroidered on the pocket couldn't make Bruce look less menacing.

Maybe a pink tutu would, but that would probably break the very structure of reality with its ridiculous. "Wayne," Roy replied, keeping his voice calm and controlled. It was the kind of calm that came before a storm, however, and his control was already fraying at the edges.

"I'm going to kill you, Harper," Bruce stated with cold certainty.

"Over my dead body," Cass proclaimed, slipping in between the immovable object and the irresistible (to her, at least) force. Her glare was menacing, but Roy couldn't find it anything but cute; the hissing, spitting kitten facing off against the disdainful panther.

Bruce's eyes flashed. "Cassandra, get out of the way," he said angrily.

"No," she replied simply. "Roy my boyfriend. You hurt him, I hurt you," she said, punctuating her remark with a finger jab at his chest. And she could hurt him, too, as Bruce well knew.

Sparing a moment to glare at Roy, Bruce turned empathetic eyes on his protégé. "Cassandra, you're new at…romantic relationships, and I don't think you realize exactly what you'd be getting into with Roy."

"Dealing with Roy not more complicated than dealing with you," Cass shot back, crossing her arms over her chest huffily. "You have more issues than a library. And Lian likes me."

Bruce swelled up with indignation and said, "You don't honestly think that Roy Harper is nearly good enough for you, do you?"

Roy kept trying to tell himself that he cared fuck all about Batman's opinion, but it still hurt to be dismissed so coldly. Granted, if anyone half as messed up as him ever tried to date Lian, he'd probably feel the same way, but hopefully he'd have matured enough by then to just threaten the kid with dismemberment if he hurt his little girl.

Cass's eyes narrowed. "Dinah good enough for you," she pointed out. "Dinah raise Roy; Roy good enough for me." It was so very simple in her mind; sometimes Roy wished things could be as simple in reality. The world would definitely be a nicer place.

"Oliver raised Roy," Bruce shot back. "And I don't think–"

"I don't care what you think," Cass broke in. "I think Roy good enough for me. I think I good enough for Roy. Roy and I are happy." She smiled at her boyfriend, cuddling up to his side. Roy automatically wrapped an arm around her waist and she turned blazing brown eyes on Bruce. "You need to get used to it," she declared.

"Or what?" Bruce gritted out.

Cass delivered her ultimatum without fanfare, which just shocked everyone that much more. "Or Batgirl start working for Oracle full-time."

Bruce appeared completely thrown, but soon regained his wits. "You can't be Batgirl without my permission," he said smugly.

"I can't work in Gotham without your permission," Cass corrected. "Batgirl Barbara's; she decide if I wear the suit or not. She say she like me being a Bird of Prey full-time."

Roy didn't really want to intrude and bring the full focus of Bruce's attention back on him again, but people did crazy things when they were in love. And Cass loved being Batgirl. Granted, she could kick ass no matter what her name, but… "Look, why don't we all just stop right here, before someone says things that can't be taken back?" Roy said, holding up one hand pleadingly, the other still holding Cass.

"I think you should have taken back asking Cassandra to move in with you," Bruce replied promptly, turning icy blue eyes on Roy.

"Sorry, but I never break a promise to a pretty lady," Roy quipped reflexively. He then mentally slapped himself; it was **so **not the time to make jokes.

Bruce's eyes narrowed, expression growing even colder. "And just how many 'promises' have you made her?" he asked, somehow managing to infuse the word 'promises' with implications of the sexual kind.

Roy refused to retreat; he did, however, allow himself a mental whimper. "Uh, well, I promised her that I'd give her a key to my apartment a while back, and I promised her that I'd teach her how to shoot a bow, and I promised her that I wouldn't wuss out of coming to talk to you today, and, uh…" He swallowed hard, and barreled full-steam ahead, "…and I promised her that I'd always love her." He just hoped to whatever forces looked out for screwed up archers that he could keep that promise. He wanted, but wasn't sure how much that counted in the grand scheme of things.

Dick, who had previously just been a passive observer, now walked forward to enter the fray. He slung an arm around Roy's shoulders, subsequently tugging him away from Cass, and looked at his father. "Now, Bruce, doesn't that make you feel a whole lot better?" he asked, campy smile almost wide enough to crack his face in two.

Bruce's eyes weren't cold anymore; they were radiating enough heat that Roy felt he should have been burnt to a crisp. "No."

"Okay, how about this?" Dick asked, and before Bruce could question him, turned to Roy. "I promise **you**, man, that if you hurt her…I'll make sure Lian is taken care of once Cass kicks your ass." Dick grinned cheekily.

Roy rolled his eyes. "Oh, thanks ever so, Dick," he replied, emphasizing his friend's oh-so-appropriate nickname. Turning back to Bruce, he said, "Look, I get that you think that I'm not good enough for her, but she thinks I am, and that should be all that matters." Personally, he didn't think he was good enough for Cass, either, but she hated it when he was down on himself, and tended to give him very painful bruises when she knocked 'some sense into his fool head' as she put it.

"I kick **your** ass," Cass told Bruce, "if you don't butt out of my love life." Laying a proprietary hand on Roy's arm, she said, "I love Roy. Roy loves me. You can like it or lump it, but you have to deal with it." Roy once again slipped his arm around her waist in support of her words.

Bruce actually appeared to consider that for a moment. "Like it or lump it, hmm?" he finally said. "There isn't another option?" he asked, a warning tone to his voice.

Cass shrugged with the arm not attached to Roy. "Realize that I am adult, and will date who I want," she replied.

Batman's eyes flashed coldly, and Bruce nodded, once. "Fine," he said, and stalked out of the room.

Roy breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief, sagging against Cass's stalwart support. He and her exchanged matching grins and then shared a deep, meaningful kiss.

Dick blinked in the wake of his father's departure. Then his turned to Roy and Cass, beaming. "That went well!" he chirped, grinning like a loon.

Roy eyed his friend askance. "How do you figure that, man?" In his mind, that had gone better than expected – but only because he was still in one piece. Bruce was obviously not happy with him, however, and who knew what he was plotting in retaliation for supposedly relieving Cass of her virtue.

Not that he had…yet.

Cass smiled softly and snuggled up to Roy. "With Bruce, sometimes feelings are in what he doesn't say," she told her lover. "He not say he **not** give us his blessing." Her eyes twinkled. "And he not say he think you not good enough for me."

Roy thought back over the conversation, and blinked in surprise as he realized that Bruce hadn't, in fact, said anything personally insulting about him. It was more that Bruce didn't think anyone was good enough for his 'little girl.'

Well…Roy could understand that.

Nudging Roy with her elbow, Cass said, "C'mon, we pick up Lian from Barbara's and go to zoo."

Roy smiled. "Sounds good, darlin'." Bruce had given them his blessing, albeit grudgingly, and now he was going to enjoy afternoon with his two favorite girls. Roy didn't just like his life, he loved it.

* * *

THE END


End file.
